JPH08242437A - Information fee charging system and information providing terminal equipment used therein - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE: To set a different charge from a purpose of use of each information providing terminal equipment without trouble of charge collection even when delivered information is the same. CONSTITUTION: A basic charge table storing a basic charge of music data, a usage purpose table storing usage purpose of music data, and an adjustment degree table adjusting the basic charge in response to the usage purpose are stored on a hard disk 35 of a charging center 30. When a delivery request is received from a karaoke terminal equipment 10, an information center 20 delivers music data via a public line network 50. The charging center 30 attended with the delivery of music data references the basic charge table, the usage purpose table, and the adjustment degree table stored in the hard disk 35 to calculate the charging monetary amount on the usage purpose of the music data and sends the charge to the karaoke terminal equipment 10 through a charge collection substitute system 51.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention is from an installer of an information providing terminal adapted to receive information from an information center that stores information through an information communication network and provide the user with the information. The present invention relates to a billing system for collecting the fee of the distributed information and an information providing terminal used for the billing system, and more particularly to a technique using a billing communication network such as Videotex.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art A communication karaoke system which has become widespread in recent years stores a large number of music data in advance in a communication karaoke terminal installed in a store or the like, and a new music is hosted by a telephone line. It is configured to be delivered from a computer. The charge for the distribution of the new song is obtained by a method in which the music data distribution business operator directly goes to a store of a business operator who installs a karaoke terminal or has the money transferred to a bank account.

However, if the karaoke terminal installation company that uses the karaoke terminal on the side of the song data distributor becomes unable to manage due to resale of the karaoke terminal, etc. There is a problem that it becomes difficult to collect fees for the service.

Further, such management of a karaoke terminal installation business operator and collection of charges for music data distribution are also a heavy burden on the music data distribution business operator side. Therefore, the applicant decided to consider the construction of a fee collection system using a charging line network such as a videotex system and a dial queue two system which have been put into practical use in recent years.

As this videotex system, a captain system is well known in Japan. This system is put to practical use as conversational image information communication in which a user terminal is connected to an information center via a videotex communication network, and character information is provided from the information center in response to a request from the user terminal. ing. Then, in order to collect the fee of the information provided from the information center, the above-mentioned videotex communication network has a charging function, and the fee can be collected in units of information.

The dial queue-to-system connects a user terminal and an information center through a public line, and adds an information charge per unit time set for each information center to the public line use charge to make a metered amount. The charge is collected by calculation. It is expected that the use of such a billing communication network will make it possible to significantly reduce the management burden on the side of the music data distributor in the communication karaoke system.

By the way, in the conventional communication karaoke system or the like, no matter which karaoke terminal the song data is distributed to, the song data and the charge thereof have a one-to-one relationship. In other words, it was a fixed fee that was irrelevant to the purpose of use of the karaoke terminal at the delivery destination and depended only on the song data. Therefore, for example, even if the karaoke terminal of the delivery destination is for business purposes intended to be used by the customer in a karaoke box or karaoke snack, or for general household purposes for personal use, If there was no difference in the song data that was delivered, the price was the same.

However, for example, even if the same piece of music is obtained for business use, the number of times it is used is so large that it cannot be compared with the case of general household use, so it is assumed that it will be used many times. If the price of music data is set on the basis of business use, the price will be high for general household use, and the amount of money for one use will be relatively high, which tends to result in refraining from acquiring music data. On the other hand, if the price of song data is set low for ordinary households, it will be easy for ordinary households to acquire a lot of song data, but in this case, it is profitable for the song data distributor side. There is also the possibility that a situation cannot be obtained. Also, in the case of business use, even if the price is higher than in the case of general household use, it is considered that it is less likely to refrain from acquiring song data because the usage fee can be obtained from the customer. Therefore, if the price is changed according to the purpose of use, such as for commercial use and for general households, the music data is not only used for commercial households but also for general households who personally use karaoke terminals. It can be easily obtained, and it can be said that it is also desirable for music data distributors. This is not limited to the online karaoke system, but is common to various information providing systems in the future multimedia society.

In view of the above, the present invention is an information fee charging system in which fee collection is not troublesome and different fees can be set according to the purpose of use of each information providing terminal even if the information to be delivered is the same. And to provide an information providing terminal used therefor.

[0010]

[Means, Actions and Effects for Solving the Problems] An information fee charging system according to claim 1, which is made in order to solve the above-mentioned object, has an information center which stores information and information communication from the information center. An information providing terminal adapted to execute an information providing service to a user based on information distributed via a network, and the information providing terminal when the information providing terminal receives information from an information center. And an information fee including a billing center that is connected via a billing communication network and executes billing for the terminal by transmitting information including billing information corresponding to the price of the distributed information to the information providing terminal. A billing system, wherein a purpose of use information storage means for storing a purpose of use of the information providing terminal, and a value of information distributed based on the purpose of use stored in the purpose of use storage means Characterized in that it comprises a compensation calculation means Toto for output.

Further, in the information fee charging system according to the first aspect, the consideration calculation means, as shown in the second aspect, a basic fee storage means for storing a basic fee of the distributed information. And a degree-of-addition storage means for storing a degree of adjustment such as an amount of increase or decrease or an adjustment rate for the basic charge for each purpose of use of the information providing terminal, and the information to be distributed is read out from the basic charge storage means. It is conceivable that the consideration is calculated based on the basic charge and the adjustment degree corresponding to the purpose of use of the information providing terminal read out from the adjustment degree storage means.

Further, in the information fee charging system according to claim 1 or 2, as described in claim 3,
It is conceivable that the information communication network is a communication network different from the billing communication network, and that the information transmitted from the billing center to the information providing terminal is dummy data including billing information.

According to these information fee charging systems, when the information center delivers information to the information providing terminal, the information providing terminal and the billing center are connected. here,
In the current billing communication networks such as the captain system and dial queue two, the calling side (calling side) is charged, so the information providing terminal will call the charging center to connect. . However, as has already been put to practical use in public telephone lines, it is possible to change the configuration of the charging communication network so as to charge the called side (the side receiving the call) by the collect call method. Therefore,
As for the connection here, as long as the information providing terminal side is charged
The call may be made by the terminal side or the charging center side.

When the information providing terminal and the billing center are connected in this manner, the billing center transmits information including billing information corresponding to the price of the distributed information to the information providing terminal. As a result, the charging of the information providing terminal via the charging communication network is executed.

Here, the information transmitted from the billing center to the information providing terminal may be actual information to be distributed as in the case of a normal videotex system. However, as described in claim 3, an information communication network is provided. If it is provided separately from the billing communication network, simple dummy data is sufficient. Further, the information itself distributed by the information center to the information providing terminal may be information as a decryption key, for example. this is,
It is also possible to store the information as scramble information in advance on the information providing terminal side and to decrypt or convert the information into a form that can be provided by receiving the decryption key and provide it to the user. is there. In this case, the dummy data may be transmitted from the billing communication network and the decryption key may be transmitted from the information communication network. If the billing communication network also serves as the information communication network, the billing information may be sent to the decryption key. May be included and transmitted.

As can be seen from the above description, the information distributed by the information center in the information fee charging system of the present invention is not limited to the same information provided as a service from the information providing terminal, but a simple decryption key. It also includes cases such as. The billing communication network and the information communication network may be separate,
They can be the same. Although the information center and the charging center are conceptually expressed as different things, it goes without saying that one center may have both functions. When the information center and the billing center are installed separately, a separate contact means for distribution between the two centers is required.

In the execution of such information distribution and billing, in the system of the present invention, the purpose of use storing means stores the purpose of use of the information providing terminal, and the consideration calculating means stores the purpose of use stored in the purpose of use storing means. Based on the above, the price of the distributed information is calculated. Therefore, for example, considering the case of being used for a communication karaoke system, even if the song data to be distributed is the same, the purpose of use is for business purposes such as karaoke box, karaoke snack, etc. In this case, the price of the song data can be set relatively high, and in the case of general household for personal use, the price of the song data can be set relatively low. .

In this way, not only when the information providing terminal is used for business use, but also for general households who personally use the information providing terminal, it becomes easy to obtain the song data, and the song data distributor can be used. It can be said that it is very desirable. This is not limited to the online karaoke system, but is common to various information providing systems in the future multimedia society.

The purpose of use cannot be arbitrarily set by the owner or the user of the information providing terminal, but a person such as a seller of the information providing terminal or an information distributor can
It is preferable to confirm and set when installing the information providing terminal. Then, in this case, the purpose of use is to set it from the viewpoint of whether it is intended for others to use mainly for business use, or mainly for personal use for general households, as in the above example. To be In addition, the frequency of use of the information may be particularly considered. That is, in the case of the above karaoke system, even if the same song is used, there is a considerable difference between the number of times it is used in a karaoke box and the number of times it is used personally at home. The price for one time is considerably higher for ordinary households. Therefore, setting the value relatively high when the expected number of times of use is common sense, and setting it low when the number of times of use is low, makes it easier for users in each position to obtain information. Can be said to be preferable.

The method of calculating the consideration in this case may be any method, but as in the system shown in claim 2, the basic charge of the information to be distributed is stored and the information is provided. For each purpose of use of the terminal, the amount of increase or decrease with respect to the basic charge or the degree of increase or decrease is stored, and for the information to be distributed, the basic charge stored and the amount of increase or decrease corresponding to the purpose of use of the information providing terminal are stored. If the method of calculating the consideration based on the above is adopted, there is an advantage that the amount of information to be set for executing the consideration calculation can be small.

As in the system according to claim 3,
The difference between the information communication network and the billing communication network is that the actual information is stored in the information center and is delivered to the terminal, and the terminal provides the information providing service based on the actual information itself. In the system, the following actions and effects are particularly excellent.

That is, when it is assumed that the actual information has a considerably large amount of information such as new song data for karaoke performance or game software,
By using a communication network suitable for distributing such large information, it is faster than distributing actual information using a billing communication network, and the reliability of data is high. This is because it is possible to configure an optimal system according to the type of information that the providing terminal should receive.

In the information fee charging system of the present invention,
The consideration calculation means may be provided on the information center or billing center side, or may be provided on the information providing terminal side. As the information providing terminal, the following information providing terminal can be used. For example, as shown in claim 4,
Information communication network connection means for connecting to an information center via an information communication network, information storage means for storing information distributed from the information center, and billing communication for connecting to a billing center via a billing communication network. An information providing terminal comprising network connection means and, when attempting to receive distribution of information from the information center, price communication means for calculating the price of the entire information to be distributed and transmitting the price to the billing center. The consideration transfer means calculates the consideration of the distributed information based on the purpose of use storing means for storing the purpose of use of the own terminal and the purpose of use stored in the purpose of use storing means. This is an information providing terminal characterized by comprising:

Further, in this information providing terminal, the consideration transmitting means uses the basic fee storing means for storing the basic fee of the distributed information, and the use of the information providing terminal. For each purpose, there is provided a degree-of-addition storage means for storing the degree of adjustment such as the amount of increase or decrease or the rate of increase or decrease with respect to the basic fee, and regarding the information to be distributed, the basic fee and the degree of adjustment read from the basic fee storage means. The consideration can be calculated based on the degree of adjustment corresponding to the purpose of use of the information providing terminal read from the storage means.

Further, as described in claim 6, in the information providing terminal according to claim 4 or 5, the information communication network connecting means is a connecting means for a communication network different from the charging communication network connecting means. The information providing terminal may be characterized by the following.

The operation and effect in these cases are the same as those already described for the system of the present invention. And
As a unique merit, the billing center only needs to perform billing according to the price transmitted from the terminal, and can shorten the connection processing time for billing.

[0027]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An embodiment in which the present invention is embodied in a network karaoke system will be described below with reference to the drawings. First, with reference to FIG. 1, a configuration of a network karaoke system and a telephone company side equipment as an embodiment will be described.
The left side of FIG. 1 is the network karaoke system of the present invention, and the right side is the telephone operator side equipment.

The network karaoke system shown in FIG. 1 is a minimum configuration example, and is composed of one information center 20, one karaoke terminal 10, and one charging center 30. In reality, there may be a plurality of the above-mentioned devices 10, 20, and 30, respectively, and it is general that a plurality of karaoke terminals 10 exist for one information center 20. The karaoke terminal 10 can be connected to the information center 20 and the billing center 30 via the public line network 50 by the telephone company. Further, at this time, the charging center 30 and the karaoke terminal 10 are configured to be connected to each other via a dedicated line 52 connected to a fee collection agency system 51. In this embodiment, a videotex communication network is assumed as the fee collection agency system 51 and the dedicated line 52.

First, the structure and function of the karaoke terminal 10 will be outlined. Karaoke terminal 10 is RO
M11, RAM 12, input device 13, CPU 14 as a control device, communication control device 15, hard disk (HDD) 16 as a storage device, and karaoke performance control section 17
Consists of

The ROM 11 stores the operation program of the CPU 14. The RAM 12 is a work area for the CPU 14. The input device 13 is provided with various keys and is used for operations such as karaoke song selection work and connection with the information center 20 and the billing center 30. CPU1
Reference numeral 4 controls the operation of the entire karaoke terminal device.
Then, the communication control device 15 uses the public line network 50, which is a facility of the telephone company, to charge the billing center 30 and the information center 2.
0 is for data communication with 0, and modulates digital data into a voice band and demodulates a received voice band signal into digital data. The hard disk 16 is for storing and accumulating song data necessary for performance.

The karaoke performance control section 17 is for converting the music data into an audio signal and a caption display and outputting them. Therefore, this karaoke performance control unit 17 has a CRT1
Equipment necessary for the karaoke performance service, such as 8, a speaker 19a and a microphone 19b, is connected.

The karaoke terminal 10 is a device for actually performing a karaoke performance, having the above-described configuration, and receives the music data required for the performance from the information center 20 for a fee, and has a built-in hard disk 16 therein. Store and store in. Then, in response to the request from the karaoke user, the song data is read from the hard disk 16, converted into an audio signal and caption display, and output.

The karaoke terminal 10 is managed by a karaoke terminal installation company. Then, new music data is supplied from the music data distributor for a fee, and is stored and accumulated in the hard disk 16 sequentially to enhance the number of music that can be played. Next, the configuration and function of the information center 20 will be outlined.

The information center 20 includes a ROM 21 and a RAM 2
2. CPU 23 as a control device, communication control device 24,
A hard disk 25 as a storage device, an input device 26,
It is composed of a CRT 27 and a printer 28. RO
M21 stores the operation program of the CPU 23. R
The AM 22 is a work area for the CPU 23. CPU
Reference numeral 23 controls the operation of the entire information center device.
The communication control device 24 is for performing data communication with the charging center 30 and the karaoke terminal 10 through the public line network 50, which is a facility of the telephone business, and modulates digital data into a voice band and receives the voice band. Demodulate the signal into digital data. The hard disk 25 stores and accumulates song data that can be distributed to the karaoke terminal 10. The hard disk 25 can also store operation information and distribution records for each karaoke terminal 10. Various commands can be input from the input device 26. For example, the operating information and distribution record for each karaoke terminal 10 stored in the hard disk 25 can be printed by the printer 28 or displayed on the CRT 27. it can.

The information center 20 is configured as described above and functions as a device for supplying music data used by the karaoke terminal 10. In supplying the song data, in response to a request from the karaoke terminal 10, a list of information to be distributed, for example, a list of all new song data or a list of undelivered songs among them is transmitted, and the karaoke terminal 10 is selected from the list. The music data for the music designated by is operated to be transmitted to the karaoke terminal 10 through the public line network 50.
This is a facility managed by a music data distributor.

Next, an outline of the structure and functions of the charging center 30 will be described. The billing center 30 is a ROM
31, a RAM 32, a CPU 33 as a control device, a communication control device 34, a hard disk 35, a charge collection system communication unit 36, an input device 37, a CRT 38, and a printer 39.

The ROM 31 stores the operation program of the CPU 34. The RAM 32 is a work area for the CPU 33. The CPU 33 controls the operation of the entire billing center device. The communication control device 34 is for performing data communication with the information center 20 through the public line network, which is a facility of the telephone company, and modulates digital data into a voice band and converts the received voice band signal into digital data. Demodulate.

Further, the hard disk 35 is provided with information regarding song data that can be provided to the karaoke terminal 10,
A basic charge table storing the track record of distribution of song data to the karaoke terminal 10 and a basic charge of the song data, a purpose table showing the purpose of use set for each karaoke terminal 10, and the above basic charges according to the purpose of use. It stores a degree-of-adjustment table that stores the degree of adjustment such as the amount of adjustment or the rate of change. Further, in the first embodiment, the hard disk 35 corresponds to the intended use storage means, the basic charge storage means and the addition / subtraction degree storage means in the present invention.

As the basic charge table, for example, if the same charge is applied to all songs, the basic charge per song is stored. If there is a difference in price depending on the song, such as making a new song higher or making a song of a specific genre cheaper, the new song 1
The basic charge for a song or the basic charge for one song of a predetermined genre is stored.

In addition, according to the purpose set in the karaoke terminal 10, the amount of increase or decrease or the rate of increase or decrease with respect to the basic charge is set in the adjustment degree table. First, the "purpose of use" set in the karaoke terminal 10 is set. Are roughly classified into business use and general home use. In addition, for commercial use, some have the main purpose of using karaoke, such as a karaoke box, or the main purpose, such as when equipped in a banquet hall such as a karaoke snack or a hotel / inn. Apart from that, there is also a commercial type in which karaoke is also used.

Therefore, in this embodiment, a karaoke box whose main purpose is to use karaoke is for business use A, karaoke snacks and hotels.
As in the case of being installed in a banquet hall such as an inn, there is a main purpose, but karaoke is also used for business B,
And we decided to set three kinds of purpose of use such as general household use.

One of the reasons for dividing into such three kinds of purposes is the number of times music data is used. In other words, even with the same song data, there is a considerable difference between the number of times it is used in a karaoke box, the number of times it is used in a banquet hall, and the number of times it is used personally at home. Then, the price for one use becomes considerably higher than that for ordinary households. Also, if the karaoke box and the banquet hall have the same price, the ensemble will be more expensive. Therefore, setting the value relatively high when the expected number of times of use is common sense, and setting it low when the number of times of use is low, makes it easier for users in each position to obtain information. Can be said to be preferable.

The purpose of this use is for the karaoke terminal 10
When the karaoke terminal 10 is installed by a person on the music data distribution company side, the owner or user of the karaoke player can set the karaoke terminal 10 by checking the purpose of use, etc. In addition, it is preferable that the contract is specified in the hard disk 35 of the billing center 30 and that the setting is made clear.

In addition, the amount of increase or decrease or the amount of increase or decrease with respect to the basic charge is set in the addition and subtraction degree table in accordance with the purpose of use set in this way. , The basic charge is increased by 20%. In the case of commercial B, the rate is 0% and the basic charge itself is set. In the case of general household use, the basic charge is 20%.
It is possible to reduce it by%. Then, in order to facilitate the charge calculation, for example, in the case of business A, the coefficient K = 1.2.
If the coefficient is set to 1.0 for business use B and the coefficient K is set to 0.8 for general households, the charge amount can be calculated by simply multiplying the basic charge by the coefficient K.

If the basic charge is 1000 yen per song, not as an increase / decrease rate, it will be increased by 200 yen in the case of commercial A, and the basic charge will be 0 yen in the case of commercial B. As such, in the case of general household use,
It is possible to reduce the price by 200 yen.

In this way, at the time of data distribution, the purpose of use of the karaoke terminal 10 of the distribution destination is read out from the purpose-of-use table, the degree of increase or decrease corresponding to the purpose of use is read out from the degree-of-adjustment table, and the basic charge of the music data is set. Based on the degree of adjustment, the actual charge amount will be calculated.

The fee collection agent system communication unit 36 is connected to the fee collection agent system 51 by a dedicated line 52, and the karaoke terminal 10 is connected via the fee collection agent system 51.
Is for data communication with. Further, various commands can be input from the input device 37. For example, a charging record or the like can be created based on the charging information for each karaoke terminal 10 stored in the hard disk 35, and the recording result can be printed by the printer 39. , Can be displayed on the CRT 38.

The charging center 30 is also a facility of the music data distributor. Therefore, the computer may be integrated with the information center 20 or may be separately configured. In this embodiment shown in FIG. 1, it is assumed that they are installed in different places.

The billing center 30 accepts a song data distribution request from a karaoke terminal installation business operator, executes processing for billing the karaoke terminal, and informs the information center 20 that the billing processing is completed. Plays a role in notifying. The charging process associated with the music data distribution by the charging center 30 is executed using the Videotex communication system. That is, the charging center 30 is connected to each karaoke terminal 10 via the charging communication network through the dedicated line 52 and the fee collection agent system 51, and some information (charging information) is charged to each karaoke terminal 10. The fee is charged to the terminal by transmitting. This fee is collected on behalf of the telephone operator in addition to the telephone fee for the karaoke terminal 10, and the fee is deducted before being passed to the music data distributor.

In the network karaoke system of the present embodiment configured as described above, new song data is distributed from the song data distribution business operator to the karaoke terminal installation business operator as follows. First, the karaoke terminal 10
To the charge collection system 51, more specifically, to the charging center 30 via the videotex communication network. Then, it sends a request for its own ID code and new song data list. On the other hand, the charging center 30
The karaoke terminal 10 is specified by the received ID code,
The past distribution record to the terminal is collated with the song data currently stored on the host side to create a list of undelivered songs. At this time, it is more convenient to create the catalog for each genre of music.

Then, this list is transmitted to the karaoke terminal 10. The karaoke terminal 10 specifies a desired song from the list and sends a distribution request to the charging center 30. As a result, the identification of the song data to be distributed is completed, and the billing center 30 transmits dummy billing information for billing the data fee for the requested song data to the karaoke terminal 10 via the videotex communication network. . By executing the communication of the dummy data, the charging of the karaoke terminal 10 on the Videotex communication system is executed,
At a later date, it will be deducted from the bank account of the terminal installer along with the telephone charge.

The results of this charging process (charging results) are recorded in each of the charging center 30 and the fee collection agency system 51. Then, the billing center 30 transfers this billing record to the information center 20 via the public line 50, and confirms the completion of billing processing. The information center 20 calls the corresponding karaoke terminal 10 on the basis of the charging record received from the charging center 30 and distributes the charged song data to the terminal. In addition, the telephone company side transfers the remaining amount after deducting the commission from the data charge collected on behalf of the karaoke terminal installation company to the music data distribution company who is the installation company of the charging center 30 based on the recorded charging record. It will be.

Regarding the contents of concrete processing for achieving the above-mentioned functions, the karaoke terminal 10 and the information center 20
The control processing executed by each of the CPUs 14, 23 and 33 of the charging center 30 will be described. First, the operation of the karaoke terminal 10 will be described based on the flowchart of FIG.

When the power is turned on, execution of this main routine is started. First, in the first step S1, R
Initialization of the entire apparatus such as initialization of the AM 12, reset of the communication control device 15, initialization of panel display, etc. is performed. next,
In S2, it is checked whether or not the karaoke performance mode is designated as the operation designation of the karaoke terminal 10. If the karaoke performance mode is designated, the process proceeds to S3, and if not, the process proceeds to S4.

At S3, the karaoke performance process is performed in which the music data selected by the input device 13 is read from the hard disk 16 and converted into an audio signal and caption display by the karaoke performance control section 17. In step S3, waiting for a request from a customer and execution of karaoke performance are repeated until the karaoke performance mode is released. The processing of S3 ends when the karaoke performance mode is cancelled, and S4 is executed.
Transition to.

In S4, it is checked whether or not the music data request mode is designated as the operation designation of the karaoke terminal 10. If the song data request mode is designated, the process proceeds to S5, and if not, the process proceeds to S6. S
In step 5, a subroutine is called to perform music piece data request processing. This song data request processing will be described based on the flowchart of FIG.

In the first step S10 of the music data request processing, the charging center 30 is connected. The karaoke terminal 10 is first connected to the charge collection agent system 51, which is a facility of the telephone company, and the charge collection agent system 5 is further connected.
1 and the billing center 30 are connected to the billing center 30 via a dedicated line 52. After the connection process with the charging center 30 is completed, the process proceeds to S11.

At S11, menu information is received from the billing center 30. This menu information is automatically created by the billing center 30 based on the relationship between the past distribution record and the music data stored on the center side as described above, and it is not created for each terminal existing in the system. It is a list of distribution songs. The karaoke terminal 10 moves to S12 after the reception of this menu information is completed.

In step S12, the menu information received in step S11 is decrypted, menu selection is executed so as to signify a distribution request for necessary music data, and the selected information is sent to the charging center 3
Send to 0. After the menu selection information transmission process is completed, the process proceeds to S13. In S13, as a response to the menu selection information, the billing information transmitted from the billing center 30 is received and recorded in the built-in hard disk 16. When the recording on this hard disk 16 is completed, S
Then, the process proceeds to step 14 to perform the connection release processing with the charging center 30.

When the music piece data request process is completed in this way, the process proceeds to S6 in the flowchart of FIG. In S6, it is checked whether or not a connection request from the information center 20 has occurred. If so, the process proceeds to S7, and if not, the process proceeds to S2 and the above process is repeated.

In step S7, a subroutine is called in order to receive the distribution of the music data from the information center 20 and record it in the built-in hard disk 16. The music piece data receiving process will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG. In the first step S20 of the music piece data receiving process, connection is established in response to a call from the information center 20. After the connection is completed, the process proceeds to S21, the music piece data transmitted from the information center 20 is received, and the received music piece data is saved in the built-in hard disk 16.

After the music data reception / save processing is completed, the process proceeds to S22 and the connection with the information center 20 is released. After the processing is completed, the subroutine is returned and the process shown in FIG.
The process proceeds to step S2 in the flowchart of step S2, and the processes from step S2 onward are repeatedly executed until the power is turned off.

The above is the operation of the CPU 14 of the karaoke terminal 10, and performs the karaoke performance, the distribution request of the music data, and the reception of the distributed music data. Next, the operation of the information center 20 will be described based on the flowchart of FIG. In the information center 20, the process is performed from step S30 after the power is turned on.

In S30, initialization of the entire device such as initialization of the RAM 22 and reset of the communication control device 24 is performed. S
After finishing the process of 30, the process proceeds to S31. In S31,
It is checked whether or not there is a connection request from the charging center 30.
If so, the process proceeds to S32, and if not, the process of S31 is repeated.

In S32, the charging center 30 is connected to the charging center 30 in response to the connection request. After the connection is completed, the process proceeds to S33. In S33, the music data distribution request information from the charging center 30 is received. The song data distribution request information is information regarding that the karaoke terminal 10 is connected to the billing center 30 via the fee collection agency system 51 and purchased the billing information. Specifically, there are a plurality of karaoke terminals. In this case, the information indicates which karaoke terminal purchased the charging information and which charging information was purchased. Based on this information from the charging center 30, the information center 20 performs a process of distributing the music data corresponding to the charging information purchased to the corresponding karaoke terminal. After receiving the music piece data distribution request information, the process proceeds to S34.

At S34, the connection with the charging center 30 is released. After the disconnection is completed, the process proceeds to S35. In S35, the song data distribution request information received in S33 is referred to,
The karaoke terminal 10 that has made a song data distribution request is called via the public line network 50. After the same process is completed, the process proceeds to S36.

In S36, the song data distribution request information received in S33 is referred to, and song data corresponding to the billing information purchased by the connected karaoke terminal 10 is distributed. After the music data distribution is completed, the process proceeds to S37. In S37, the connection with the connected karaoke terminal 10 is released. After the disconnection is completed, the process proceeds to S31 and the above process is repeated.

The above is the operation of the CPU of the information center 20, receives the song data distribution request information from the billing center 30, refers to the content thereof, and then refers to the contents thereof to the karaoke terminal 10 that purchased the billing information from the billing center 30. , Processing for transmitting music data corresponding to the purchased billing information.

Next, the operation of the charging center 30 will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG. At the charging center 30,
After the power is turned on, the process is executed from step S40. In S40, initialization of the entire device such as initialization of the RAM 32 and reset of the communication control device 34 is performed. Then, the process proceeds to S41, and it is checked whether or not there is a connection request from the karaoke terminal 10. If there is, the process proceeds to S42, and if there is not, the process of S41 is repeated to enter the standby state.

In S42, the karaoke terminal 10 is connected to the karaoke terminal 10 in response to the connection request from the karaoke terminal 10. After the connection is completed, the process proceeds to S43. In S43, menu information of undelivered song data is transmitted to the karaoke terminal 10. After the transmission process is completed, the process proceeds to S44, and the menu selection information which is a response from the karaoke terminal 10 is received.

After completion of receiving this menu selection information, S4
5, the selected music piece data is specified based on the menu selection information, and dummy data for executing the charging of the data charge for the specified music piece data is transmitted. Since this billing information is dummy data, the karaoke terminal 10
The data is meaningless to the billing center 30
And for the fee collection agency system 51, it has important meaning as information for determining which karaoke terminal 10 has been charged for which song data. The billing center 30 records this billing information as a billing record. Based on this billing information, the fee collection agency system 51 existing between the karaoke terminal 10 and the communication path of the billing center 30 uses the billing information to add information to the operator who installed the karaoke terminal 10 in addition to the telephone bill. Will be collected. FIG. 7 shows the process of transmitting the billing information in S45 in more detail.

First, the music number counter CNT and the data charge CST are initialized (S60), and subsequently, one of the selected music numbers is extracted and the music number counter CN is extracted.
Increment T (S61). Then, the basic charge corresponding to the extracted song number is determined by referring to the basic charge table and added to the data charge CST (S
62). Then, the processes of S61 and S62 are repeated until these processes are completed for all the selected song numbers (S63).

For all the selected song numbers, S61,
If the process of S62 can be executed, then, based on the ID information obtained from the karaoke terminal 10 connected in S42, the purpose of use table of the currently connected karaoke terminal is read out by referring to the purpose of use table, and this purpose of use is read. The degree of increase / decrease (stored as the coefficient K in the present embodiment) corresponding to is read from the degree of increase / decrease table (S64). As described above, in this embodiment, there are three types of purposes set, namely, A for business, B for business, and general household. In the case of A for business, 20% of the basic charge is set. Due to the increase, the coefficient K = 1.
2. In the case of commercial B, the coefficient K = 1.
0, in the case of general household use, the coefficient K is set to 0.8 because the basic charge is reduced by 20%.

Then, the coefficient K is multiplied to determine the final data charge CST (S65), and further the dummy data for billing which means the data charge is determined (S65).
66). This dummy data for billing is also stored in the billing center 30.
The data is stored in the hard disk 35 as a table in advance.

When the billing dummy data for this transaction can be determined in this way, it is transmitted (S67). When the transmission of the charging information in S45 in FIG. 6 is completed in this way, the process proceeds to S46, and the connection with the karaoke terminal 10 is released. After the disconnection process is completed, the process proceeds to S47 and S42.
The recording result as a result of the processing of to S44 is recorded in the memory as music data distribution request information. Also, addition to the distribution record in the hard disk 35 is executed. After this process ends, the process proceeds to S48.

In S48, the information center 20 is called up via the public line and a connection for data transfer is established. After the connection process is completed, the process proceeds to S49, and the "song data distribution request information" = "selected song number" recorded in the memory at S47 is transmitted to the information center 20. After the completion of this transmission process, S50
And the connection with the information center 20 is released. After the connection release process is completed, the process proceeds to S41 and the above process is repeated.

The above is the operation of the CPU 33 of the billing center 30 to connect to the connection request from the karaoke terminal 10 via the fee collection agency system 51 and transmit the billing information corresponding to the designated song data. At the same time, the billing record is recorded, and the requested song data is delivered to the karaoke terminal 10 by passing it to the information center 20.

Finally, the function of the charge collection agency system 51, which is a facility of the telephone company, will be described. When the karaoke terminal 10 purchases the billing information from the billing center 30, data is exchanged via the fee collection agency system 51. At this time, the fee collection system 51
Obtains information about which karaoke terminal 10 purchased which billing information from which billing center 30 as a billing record from a position located in the middle of data exchange. Based on this delivery record, the information provision fee is calculated by referring to the fee list registered in advance as the one in this network karaoke system.

The telephone business operator collects the calculated information provision fee in a form to be added to the telephone fee charge request to the operator who installed the karaoke terminal, which is the owner of the karaoke terminal 10 which has read the charging information, and provides the information. We provide a service to hand over to the music data distribution business that is the person who sells the music. As such, it is well known as a videotex conducted by NTT.

As described above, according to this embodiment, the karaoke terminal 10 is connected to the billing center 30 via the fee collection agency system 51 on the telephone company side and receives billing information which is dummy data. By doing so, it is possible to request the distribution of music data to the information center 20. As a result, the charging center 30 obtains information about which karaoke terminal 10 purchased which song data from the information center 2.
Information center 20 that automatically notified 0 and received the notification
Will deliver the song data purchased by the terminal to the karaoke terminal 10 for which the charging process has been completed. Further, the collection fee of the music data can be collected by the telephone company's fee collection agent system.

As is clear from the above description, according to the network karaoke system of the present embodiment, the reception process is automatically performed in response to the distribution request of the music data by the karaoke terminal installation company, and the music data is further processed. For the charge collection associated with the music data distribution by the distribution company, the agency service by the telephone company can be used, and the burden on the music data distribution company can be reduced from these.

Moreover, despite the construction of such an automated data sales system, the main purpose is to use karaoke like a karaoke box even if the music data to be distributed is the same ( Commercial A),
Depending on the purpose of use, such as karaoke snacks and banquet halls such as hotels and inns, which have a separate main purpose but also use karaoke (commercial use B), and general household use. Then, the charge is A for business
It can be set to be> Business B> General household.

In this way, not only when the karaoke terminal 10 is used for business A or B, but also for general households who use the karaoke terminal 10 personally, it is easy to obtain the music data, and the music data is also available. It can be said that it is also desirable for distributors.

The communication sequence diagram of this embodiment is as shown in FIGS. FIG. 8 shows a communication sequence between the karaoke terminals 10 and 30. First, the karaoke terminal 10 makes a call to the charging center 30 via the videotex communication network, and after connecting, the password is set. Send.

At the charging center 30, terminal verification is performed based on this password, and if the terminal is registered as one in the network karaoke system, the verification result is returned. The karaoke terminal 10 inquires about the presence or absence of new song data after the charging center 30 becomes ready to accept the collation normality.

The charging center 30 accepts this inquiry, searches for new song data for the karaoke terminal, and transmits the inquiry response to the karaoke terminal 10.
That is, it is an answer indicating whether or not there is new song data.
The karaoke terminal 10 judges whether or not there is new song data based on the answer result, and if there is new song data, it sends a request corresponding to a purchase application for new song data to the billing center 30.

In response to this request, the billing center 30 sends dummy data for billing a fee corresponding to the purchase price to the karaoke terminal 10. In response to this, the karaoke terminal 10 disconnects from the charging center 30. When the above processing is completed, the billing center 30 and the information center 2
The communication shown in FIG. 9 is executed with 0. First, the billing center 30 makes a call and connects to the information center 20 via the public line, and transmits a new song data distribution request. Information center 20
When receiving this distribution request, returns a reception completion.
In response to this, the charging center 30 disconnects the connection with the information center 20.

When the above processing is completed, the communication shown in FIG. 10 is executed between the information center 20 and the karaoke terminal 10, and the information center 20 first calls the karaoke terminal 10 via the public line. Connect and send the new song data specified by the distribution request. And the karaoke terminal 10
After receiving the reception completion from, the connection is disconnected.

In this way, "Karaoke terminal 10" → "Billing center 30" → "Information center 20" → "Karaoke terminal 1"
Communication is handed over in the order of "0", and pay distribution of new song data is being executed. Next, the network karaoke system of the second embodiment will be described. In the first embodiment described above, the charge for the song data is determined by the charging center 30, but in the second embodiment, the charge is calculated on the karaoke terminal 10 side. The system configuration itself is almost the same as that of the first embodiment, but is different in the following points.

That is, in the first embodiment, the karaoke terminal 1
On the 0 side, only the desired music data selected from the new music menu received from the billing center 30 is transmitted, but in the second embodiment, the charge itself for the selected music data is displayed. It is calculated on the karaoke terminal 10 side. Therefore, in comparison with the first embodiment, the basic charge table, the purpose-of-use table and the adjustment degree table stored in the hard disk 35 of the charging center 30 in the first embodiment are stored in the hard disk 16 of the karaoke terminal 10. Is different.

The karaoke terminal 10 corresponds to the menu selection information transmission processing of S12 in FIG. 3 executed when the new song menu is received.
The process shown in is executed. First, set the menu information to C
It is displayed on RT18 (S81). Then, the selection of the song number by the karaoke terminal installer is awaited (S82). When the song number is selected, this is used as menu selection information in the RAM 12
Is set (S83), and whether or not the next music selection is performed is displayed on the screen (S84). If there is the next music selection, the process returns to S81.
When the end of music selection is keyed in, the flow shifts to S85, and the music number counter CNT and the data charge CST are initialized.

Subsequently, one is extracted from the song numbers set in the RAM 12 and the song number counter CNT is incremented (S86). Then, the basic charge corresponding to the extracted song number is determined by referring to the basic charge table and added to the data charge CST (S8).
7). Then, the processes of S86 and S87 are repeated until these processes are completed for all the selected song numbers (S88).

S86 for all the selected song numbers,
When the processing of S87 can be executed, next, the purpose of use of the currently connected karaoke terminal is read out by referring to the purpose of use table, and the degree of increase or decrease corresponding to this purpose of use (stored as a coefficient K in this embodiment). Is read from the adjustment degree table (S89). Then, the coefficient K is multiplied to calculate the final data charge CST (S90),
The menu selection information stored in the RAM 12 is stored in S9
The information is transmitted to the charging center 30 together with the information on the data charge CST calculated at 0 (S91).

On the other hand, the charging center 30 which has received the information of the data charge CST, based on the information of the data charge CST, S6 in FIG. 7 in the case of the first embodiment.
6, the process corresponding to S67 is executed. Therefore, the processes of S60 to S65 in FIG. 7 need not be executed in the second embodiment.

Next, a third embodiment will be described. The network karaoke system of the third embodiment is shown in FIG.
As shown in, the information center 110 and the karaoke terminal 130.
And are connected via a billing communication network 120. Note that the network karaoke system shown in FIG. 12 is a minimum configuration example, and in reality, there may be a plurality of the information centers 110 and the karaoke terminals 130, respectively. It is general that the karaoke terminal 130 is present. The billing communication network 120 is a videotex communication network similar to the first and second embodiments.

The information center 110 includes a host computer 151, an information storage device 153, an input device 155,
Communication control device 157, printer 159, CRT 16
1 and. On the other hand, the karaoke terminal 130 includes a central control device 131, a multipurpose input key 132, a hard disk 133, a sound reproduction circuit 135, and a screen display control device 12.
6. The communication control device 127 is provided. A mixer amplifier 138 is connected to the audio reproduction circuit 135, and a television monitor 129 as display means is connected to the screen display control device 126. A speaker 141 and a microphone 143 are connected to the mixer amplifier 138.

The hard disk 133 stores karaoke song data of about several thousand songs, and one karaoke song data includes song number information, which is identification information for identifying songs, and substantial information. It consists of and. The substantive information in this is MIDI (Musi) which is information of accompaniment music.
cal instrument digital interface) standard performance information, lyrics information and background image information. The background video information is encoded video information corresponding to each song. It also stores menu information corresponding to the list of the karaoke piece data.

The karaoke piece data cannot be used as it is. In order to use, it is configured to be connected to the information center 110 via the billing communication network 120, and to receive the distribution and billing of the decryption key. Only one decryption key can be delivered at a time, or many decryption keys can be delivered together.

Hard disk 13 of karaoke terminal 130
3 stores a basic charge table, a purpose-of-use table, and an adjustment degree table as described in the first and second embodiments. Therefore, in the case of the third embodiment,
The hard disk 133 corresponds to the intended use storage means, the basic charge storage means, and the addition / subtraction degree storage means in the present invention. Then, by executing a program as shown in FIG. 13, the decryption key is distributed from the information center.

First, the menu information corresponding to the list of the karaoke piece data is read and displayed, and the selection input of the data is waited (S121). Then, in response to the selection input of the data, the cost calculation is executed in the same manner as S83 to S90 of the second embodiment (S122), and the calculation result is displayed on the television monitor 129 (S123).

Then, an inquiry is made as to whether or not this calculation result is acceptable (S124). If OK, the accounting communication network 120 is connected to the information center 110 and the data selection result and the cost calculation result are transmitted (S125). Information center 110
Receives the data selection result and the cost calculation result, it will reply with the charge information corresponding to the cost calculation result added to the decryption key group corresponding to the data selection result. , Disconnect the connection (S126,
S127). Then, the decryption key is used to descramble the karaoke piece data, and the karaoke performance is carried out (S128).

If NO is input in S124, an inquiry is made as to whether or not the processing is to be ended (S129), and the processing returns to S121 or the processing of this routine is ended according to the result. As described above, the present invention can be applied to a storage-type network karaoke system, and in this case as well, by purchasing the decryption keys collectively, the same effect as that of the first and second embodiments can be achieved. You can

Although some embodiments of the present invention have been described above, the present invention is not limited to these. For example, instead of the communication sequence of FIGS. 8 to 10 in the first embodiment, the following configuration can be adopted.

FIG. 14 is a karaoke terminal 1 as a modified example.
0 shows the communication sequence between 0, the billing center 30 and the information center 20. The process until the karaoke terminal 10 calls / connects to the billing center 30 through the videotex communication network and disconnects is the same as that of the embodiment, but the subsequent process is different. When the karaoke terminal 10 receives the billing information and shuts off the line to the videotex communication network, it then calls the information center 20 and connects to the public line network 50. Then, the distribution request for the new song data is transmitted. Upon receiving this distribution request, the information center 20 transmits the new song data specified by the distribution request. Then, the karaoke terminal 10 cuts off the connection with the information center 20 after completing the reception of the new song data.

As described above, instead of passing the information from the billing center 30 to the information center 20, the karaoke terminal 10 sends a distribution request directly to the information center 20, and the pay distribution of new song data is executed. It's good. Alternatively, as shown in FIG. 15, the karaoke terminal 10 first calls and connects to the information center 20 via the public line network, requests a new song menu, and receives the new song menu via the videotex communication network. Calling the billing center 30, transmitting the menu selection information and receiving the billing information, disconnecting the videotex communication network, and sending a distribution request for new song data to the information center 20 upon completion of billing. Then
When the reception of the new song data is completed, the public line network 50 may be disconnected.

As described above, instead of passing information from the billing center 30 to the information center 20, the karaoke terminal 10 sends a distribution request directly to the information center 20 and executes pay distribution of new song data. It's good. In addition to the above, various communication sequences can be adopted without departing from the scope of the present invention.

Further, in the embodiment, the distribution list to the karaoke terminal 10 is created and transmitted based on the distribution record, but only the menu of new song data is stored in the billing center 30. Be done,
The new song menu may be immediately transmitted in response to an inquiry from the karaoke terminal 10. Alternatively, the menu may be transmitted in such a manner that arbitrary song data can be selected from all songs stored / stored in the information center 20.

Further, it goes without saying that the application target of the present invention is not limited to the network karaoke system and may be applied as a distribution network of game software.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a network karaoke system of a first embodiment.

FIG. 2 is a flowchart showing main processing in the karaoke terminal of the first embodiment.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing song data request processing in the karaoke terminal of the first embodiment.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing a music piece data receiving process in the karaoke terminal of the first embodiment.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing main processing in the information center of the first embodiment.

FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing main processing in the charging center of the first embodiment.

FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing a cost calculation process in the charging center of the first embodiment.

FIG. 8 is a communication sequence diagram in the first embodiment.

FIG. 9 is a communication sequence diagram in the first embodiment.

FIG. 10 is a communication sequence diagram in the first embodiment.

FIG. 11 is a flowchart of cost calculation processing in the karaoke terminal of the second embodiment.

FIG. 12 is a block diagram showing a network karaoke system of a third embodiment.

FIG. 13 is a flowchart showing main processing in the karaoke terminal of the third embodiment.

FIG. 14 is a communication sequence diagram in a modified example.

FIG. 15 is a communication sequence diagram in a modified example.

[Explanation of symbols]

10 ... Karaoke terminal 13 ... Input device 15 ... Communication control device 16 ... Hard disk 17 ... Karaoke performance control unit 20 ... Information center 24 ... Communication control device 25 ... Hard disk 26 ... Input device 30 ... Billing center 34 ... Communication control device 35 ... Hard disk 36 ... Toll collection system communication unit 37 ... Input device 50 ... Public line network 51 ... Toll collection system 52 ... Private line 110 ... Information center 120 ... Billing communication network 130 ... Karaoke terminal

Claims (6)

[Claims] 1. An information center storing information, and an information providing terminal adapted to execute an information providing service to a user based on information distributed from the information center via an information communication network. When the information providing terminal receives information from the information center, the information providing terminal is connected to the information providing terminal via a billing communication network, and the information including the billing information corresponding to the price of the delivered information is provided. An information fee billing system comprising: a billing center for billing a terminal by transmitting the bill to the terminal, the purpose of use storing means for storing a purpose of use of the information providing terminal, and the purpose of use storing means. An information fee charging system, comprising: a consideration calculation means for calculating a consideration of information to be distributed, based on the purpose of use stored in. 2. The information fee charging system according to claim 1, wherein the consideration calculation means stores a basic fee of the information to be distributed, and a basic fee storage means for each purpose of use of the information providing terminal. And a degree-of-addition storage means for storing a degree of adjustment such as an amount of increase or decrease or an adjustment rate with respect to the basic fee, and the basic fee and the degree-of-adjustment storage means read out from the basic fee storage means for information to be distributed. An information fee charging system, characterized in that the value is calculated based on the read / write degree corresponding to the purpose of use of the information providing terminal. 3. The information fee charging system according to claim 1, wherein the information communication network is a communication network different from the charging communication network, and the information transmitted from the charging center to the information providing terminal is charged. An information fee charging system characterized by being dummy data containing information. 4. An information communication network connecting means for connecting to an information center via an information communication network, an information storing means for storing information distributed from the information center, and a charging center for charging via a charging communication network. A charging communication network connecting means for connecting to the charging center, and a price transferring means for calculating the price of the entire information to be distributed and transmitting it to the charging center when the information is distributed from the information center. An information providing terminal, wherein the price transfer means stores a price of information to be distributed based on a purpose of use storing means for storing a purpose of use of its own terminal and a purpose of use stored in the purpose of use storing means. An information providing terminal, comprising: a consideration calculating means for calculating. 5. The information providing terminal according to claim 4, wherein the consideration calculating unit stores a basic fee of the information to be distributed, and a basic fee storing unit for each purpose of use of the information providing terminal. A basic charge read out from the basic charge storage means, and a basic charge read out from the basic charge storage means for the information to be distributed. An information providing terminal, characterized in that the price is calculated based on the degree of adjustment corresponding to the read purpose of use of the information providing terminal. 6. The information providing terminal according to claim 4 or 5, wherein the information communication network connecting means is a connecting means for a communication network different from the charging communication network connecting means. .